Books?

Some of my favorites for that age are: "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie", "On the Day You Were Born" and "The Mitten" (a wonderful, winter, non-Christmas story). A couple of really fun books for a kid entering the potty-training stage are: "Everyone Poops" and "The Little Mole Who Went in Search of Whodunit" - both are sure to get a lot of laughs. Have fun!

My 19 year old grew up, from about age 3 or 4 being read then reading Dinatopia (a bit expensive - but well worth it, a book you read over and over) and I can't think of the name of the second book. Check it out. My great-niece just received a copy for Christmas. We would loan ours, but it is a keep sake. Good luck, J. B

If you're looking for more variety and new stuff I would start by heading to your local library. I'm the Vice Prez on our local Library Board and our librarian works very hard to make sure we have a wide selection of kids' books. I'm sure yours can even help you and your son find whatever books they have on pupies and dinosaurs =) Then you'll constantly have variety AND your son will feel like a big boy getting to pick out his own books.

kids love Dr Seuss, and the easy to read or early readers. Where the Wild Things Are has always been my favorite. Most libraries have story hours and lots of great books, book stores have story hours too. Librarians and the staff of book stores can be very hel

Good luck, there will be books you remember years later, and so will the kids

Dinosaurumpus! by Tony Mitton - awesome book! "Shake Shake shudder...near the sludgy old swamp. The dinosaurs are coming, get ready to romp." LOVE IT! Also another book my son just brought home The Three Silly Billies by Margie Palatini is a newer version of the Billy Goats Gruff. It has Little Red Riding Hood in it and The Three Bears and Jack with his beans. Check them out on Amazon.

" I love you stinky face" by Lisa Mc Court, and another of my littles ones favorites is "Pigs Can't Fly" by Ben Court, Fisher Price also has some great pop up style books that even my 16 month old enjoys, I find those at Sams Club. I could probaably go on and on cause mine love to be read to, but the first 2 are thier absolute favorites and have been for years! SOme of thier other choices are a little older.

My three year old has loved Mo Willems books since he was about two. In fact, he has memorized "Don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus," and uses gestures when "Hmmm"ing and "Hmmph" ing with the disgust of the pigeon for not being allowed to drive. Mo Willems has also written the Knuffle Bunny books which even my six year old loves to read.

Also, if you haven't read the Sandra Boynton books, they are great. I like to rhyme and sing the "Barnyard Dance" book because it is so catchy. Also, Sandra Boyton did some of her books like Dog Train and two others with music and a CD (you can find them at Borders and Barnes and Noble). Dog Train even has some of the songs sung by current popular singers. They are GREAT!

Hi J.,
I agree with one of the other moms, Kohls have some great dinosaur books. My sons love the book "How do dinosaurs say goodnight?". I bought 2 more for Chrismas. They also love "Goodnight Moon".

Any book is a good book to read. Introduce your child to the library for a start. Here are a few of our strategies. During summer months, I hit yard sales and buy any book that is a quarter or less. I'll pay up to $.50 if it is a really nice one or special for some reason. I also started going to the local library for their "friends of the library" book sale and pick up whatever I can. That's not much because it's a first come thing and with two kids, I can't get there first. hehe. We go to the library and pick out a few. I also purchased 3-4 of the Disney multi-story books at the bookstore while they were on sale. Those are the themed books like princesses or the classics.

Each night, we pick two books to read before bed. Either each of the girls get to pick one or I pick two. We lay on the floor on our bellies (alternating rooms) and read the books. I keep a bookmark in the Disney book and sometimes will read just one of those stories because they are long. We are constantly changing what we read and there are only a few I get tired of, at which time, I encourage them to pick something else. Despite being girls, we read books on trucks and dinosaurs sometimes too.

That's how we do it... I don't get bored and on days that they are very bad going to bed, they only get one book and it really hurts them. That's an awesome feeling because I know how much the books mean to them. Sorry for long-winded - hope that helps.

Kohls has a great series of Dinosaurs books. My Mom got them for my girls and they love them. I think there are 3 or 4. Otherwise both my girls like the Berenstein Bears.

What I did when my son was that age was checked out books in the early reader section of the library. There are a lot of books there, the sentenses are short and simple, and you can pick from little stories to basic information about weather, space, and probably dinosaurs. We made Fridays library day. That way we always had new books to read throughout the week. Also, Dr. Seuss is a really good one for even little kids. The silly words and rhythm and rhyme is really fun for them.

Hi,
I have a 2 year old and she loves Brown Bear, Brown Bear. Also among her favorites are the Little Quack series by Lauren Thompson, and Duck on a Bike by David Shannon.

Hopes this helps!
R.

Hi J.!

I am somewhat of a book collector...they're probably my favorite thing to buy. (I'm a teacher and a mom of three so I use them a lot..). Some of my favorites are, for the 2 1/2 year old age range--"Please, Baby, Please"; "Fuzzy, Fuzzy, Fuzzy" by Sandra Boynton (maybe a little too easy for your 2 year old, but something your 3 month old could enjoy, too..), "Guess How Much I Love You"; "Snowmen at Night" (a GREAT wintertime read and has awesome illustrations); "Freight Train" by Daniel Crews (this one is a very easy read...but my kids LOVE it still at 2 1/2 and 4...it's one of the books that's been ripped to pieces and I've retaped it over and over :) AND, it's an award winner); "Digger Man" (again, one of their favorites); "Little Quack"; "Tails" (an interactive and very fun book); and "The Very Hungry Caterpillar."

I also agree that the series "How do Dinosaurs Say Good Night," ".....Get Well Soon", etc. is a very good series, especially for dinosaur lovers. I do love "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom," too.

For the 3 month old, I would buy separate books to spark his or her interest in them. My kids' (all 3 of them) favorite was/is "I Kissed the Baby," by Mary Murphy. The illustrations are black and white, which really catches an infant's eyes. My kids also liked the series of 4 board books by Tana Hoban...called "White on Black," "Black On White," "What is That"...and there's one more I can't remember. But basically they're just books with black and white illustrations. They don't have any words, but they're great for infants under 1.

Hope this helps!!!

The early learning books by Dr. Suess are very good.

Hi! I've taught preschool and kindergarten and the following books have been some favorites although they aren't about puppies or dinosaurs. Hope this helps.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archmbault (I'm not sure on the spelling of his last name)
Chicka Chicha 123 by Bill Martin Jr., Michael Sampson and Lois Ehlert

Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin Jr., pictures by Eric Carle
Polar Bear, Polar Bear by Bill Martin Jr., pictures by Eric Carle

The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle
and other Eric Carle books

Caps for Sale by: Esphyr Slobodkina

Is Your Mama A Llama? by Steven Kellogg

The Napping House by Audrey & Don Wood
Quick as a Cricket by Audrey & Don Wood
The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear (all one title) by Don and Audrey Wood

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Mary Ann Hoberman and Nadine Bernard Westcott
Peanut Butter and Jelly: A Play Rhyme by Nadine Bernard Westcott

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond
If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond
and other "mouse" books in this series

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed (and other 5 Little Monkeys books)

Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
Verdi by Janell Cannon

We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen

I love the Sandra Boynton board books. There's a variety of them - including some about dinosaurs and puppies - all with rhymes and cute drawings. There's also a CD of recordings the books. My kids learned the books and would "read" along with me.

Sample of Moo, Baa, La la la:

A cow says MOO.
A sheep says BAA.
Three singing pigs say LA LA LA!

'No, no!' you say, 'that isn't right.
The pigs say OINK all day and night.'

Some favorites here for that age:
Any Dr. Seuss
Goodnight Moon
Bad Kitty (hilarious and teaches the alphabet)
Poor Puppy (same author)
How do Dinosaurs say Goodnight?
All Sandra Boynton board books!
Knuffle Bunny and other books by Mo Willems

If you have to read books over and over, the ones above are good enough to make it much easier. :)

Sandra Boynton! (She has dinosaur and doggy books!)
Happy baby books (They have full-page baby faces on them- young children LOVE looking at other baby faces!)

Golden Books has a book called "Pokey Little Puppy" which I loved to hear when I was little. There's also the "Clifford the Big Red Dog" series. A favorite with my nephew is the "Curious George" series, and of course, anything Dr. Seuss is wonderful for young children and adults alike. Kudos to you for being a dedicated reader with your children! Happy reading!

Llama llama red pajamas is a fun read, Book Book Book was one we had to read over over and over!! It has animals on the farm who decide to go to the library. How do dinosaurs say good night is also one of my faves.... We also love I love you Stinky Face, and Goodnight Stinky Face, I was put off by the titles and thought just what kids need another outlet for name calling but it really isn't the way it sounds and are fun and loving books from a mom to a child. Hope these help!!

Sandra Boynton books are the best. She has a bedtime collection that my kids have loved. Daughter nine, son four; Both still quote from a variety of her books. Keep reading! Both my kids are avid readers, and we love choosing books to read as a family.

Thomas the Train and Clifford!!!

I think the Shel Silverstein books are a lot of fun. I remember them from when i was younger and now I enjoy reading them to my daughter. It's fun cause there are a bunch of different books with lots of silly poems in them. You never really get tired of it cause there is so much to choose from. For the 3 month old these books works well as well as they are rhymes and young children often like that, we also received a book called "Chicka Chicka ABC" it's a fun alphabet book. My daughter really likes that one it's available in a cardboard version so it's good for young ones.

Mercer Meyer are excellent books--both my children loved them when they were younger!!

My son is the same age and he absolutly loves the first look and find books. They have Elmo, Scooby Doo, Blues Clues, and many more. Those books get them using their mind and eyes to find stuff. I'm still trying to find a good dinosaur book too, my son like them too. Anouther fun book would be to get a sign language book with just simple words in there with animals, food, and people. This is the age to get them started on languages since they are like sponges. My mother in law gave us some of those and now my son knows all the signs in them and uses them. Just something different. Hope this helps

we have been reading how do dinosaurs say goodnight and bats at the beach is a fun one. Llama Llama red pajama is funny onie too that my son loves to read over and over again.

J.-
There are a lot of picture books where you can tell the story (as it relates to you) with the pictures in the book. There is a book I really like called Feelings. It is a picture book which gives you a chance to talk about so many different things. There are books by Keats, and Mercer Mayer. The Bernstean Bear book Series is good. It's best to find out what your childs' interests are. Also looking up childrens literature on the Internet will give you some ideas.If you go to the library there are pamphlets available that tell about age apprpriate books. I like to check them out of the library. Buying gooks gets expensive and kids don't like them forever. Good luck P.